This application discloses apparatus described and claimed in a co-pending application entitled Inverting Toy Vehicle Playset which is hereby incorporated herein by reference and which is assigned to the assignee of the present application.
This invention relates generally to toy vehicle playsets and particularly to those utilizing closed trackways having toy vehicle boosters operated therein to propel free wheeling toy vehicles about various loops and curves in the trackway in a continuous travel.
Toy vehicle playsets are well known in the art and have enjoyed great popularity for many years. Not surprisingly, practitioners in art have provided a virtually endless variety of toy vehicle playsets having various types of tracks and trackways and various types of toy vehicles operative thereon.
Perhaps one of the most common and popular types of toy vehicle playsets utilizes a closed loop track defining a plurality of curves and loop portions within which one or more toy vehicle boosters are operated. A typical toy vehicle booster utilizes one or more rotating wheels which engage the sides or top portions of the toy vehicle entering the booster and due to their motor-driven rotation accelerate the toy vehicle through the playset trackway. To improve the amusement, excitement and appeal of toy vehicle playsets, practitioners of the toy arts have endeavored to provide various stunt apparatus within playsets. Examples of such stunt apparatus include inverting loops, spiral paths, jumps of various kinds as well as obstacles or interfering elements which attach or impede passing toy vehicles.
The toy vehicles themselves are generally free wheeling in such booster activated playsets and comprise relatively simple toy vehicle bodies having a plurality of supporting freely rolling wheels.
Despite substantial variation and great effort by practitioners of the toy arts in providing evermore improved and interesting toy vehicle playsets, there remains nonetheless a continuing need in the art for ever more interesting, exciting and innovative toy vehicle playsets.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved toy vehicle playset. It is a more particular object of the present invention to provide an improved toy vehicle playset having additional exciting play features not found in the present art.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a toy vehicle playset comprising: a toy vehicle; a toy vehicle track; and a staging mechanism having a carriage defining a throughway ramp and a staging ramp, the carriage being movable between a staged position aligning the throughway ramp with the toy vehicle track and holding the toy vehicle on the staging lane and a launch position aligning the staging ramp with the toy vehicle track allowing the toy vehicle to leave the staging ramp.